JP2003-143596A discloses a monitor device for a vehicle having a camera, an image extracting means, a display means and an obstacle detecting means. The camera is mounted on the vehicle. The camera includes a wide-angle lens for capturing wide-field-of-view images of a vehicle surrounding. The image extracting means extracts an image of a predetermined range from the images captured by the camera through the wide angle lens. The display means displays the image extracted by the image extracting means. The obstacle detecting means detects obstacle existing at the vehicle surrounding. Further, an image, which shows an orientation of the obstacle, recognized by the obstacle recognizing portion, is extracted and then displayed on a display portion in an enlarged manner. More specifically, normally, the entire image, which is captured by the camera, an image, in which a lower-central portion of the captured image is extracted, an image, in which a lower-right portion of the captured image is extracted, and an image, in which a lower-left portion of the captured image is extracted, are alternately displayed for a predetermined time frame, in a repetitive manner. When the obstacle is detected by a backsonar, arranged at a right side of the vehicle, an image of a left-side predetermined range is extracted from the captured image memorized in an image memory (the camera is arranged to face a rear of the vehicle, and therefore, the obstacle, positioned at a rear-right side of the vehicle is shown at a left side of the captured image), then the extracted image is enlarged to fill an entire display screen, thereby being displayed on the display screen. When the obstacle is detected by another back sonar, arranged at a left side of the vehicle, an image of a right-side predetermined range is extracted from the captured image, then the extracted image is enlarged to fill the entire display screen, thereby being displayed on the display screen. An auxiliary screen may be provided at a predetermined portion of the display screen (for example, at an upper-right portion of the display screen) in order to display a position of the vehicle and a captured range of the extracted image therein. According to the monitor device for the vehicle, however, a portion of an image showing the detected obstacle is extracted from the captured image used for monitor display, and then displayed on the monitor in an enlarged manner. Therefore, when the obstacle is not included within the captured image being displayed on the monitor, the image of the obstacle may not be displayed. Further, when a capturing field of view is enlarged in order to avoid the aforementioned drawback, a substantially central range of the captured image, which normally includes important information, becomes small relative to a dimensions of the monitor display. Consequently, it may become difficult to confirm the vehicle surroundings through the image displayed on the monitor.
JP2003-212041A discloses a vehicle rear display device having a wide-angle camera at a lower-rear portion of a vehicle, and a narrow-angle camera at an upper-rear portion of the vehicle. According to the vehicle rear display device, when parking the vehicle rearward, a vehicle condition detecting device detects a vehicle condition based on a moving amount of the vehicle, a vehicle speed, a brake depressing amount and the like. Then, a display switching device switches display images appropriately according to the detected vehicle condition, so that, for example, a wide-field-of-view image, captured by the wide-angle camera, is displayed in order to display the rear of the vehicle during a first half of a rearward parking process and that a narrow-field-of-view image captured by the narrow-angle camera is displayed in order to display the rear of the vehicle during a second half of the rearward parking process. According to the vehicle rear display device, each of a field of view for capturing the wide-field-of-view image and a field of view for capturing the narrow-field-of-view image may be set individually. However, cost may be increased because two cameras are provided. Further, capturing angles of each of the cameras are different. Therefore, the wide-field-of-view image and the narrow-field-of-view image are captured from different angles. Accordingly, when the display images are switched from the wide-field-of-view image to the narrow-field-of-view image, a driver may be confused due to visual strangeness.
A need thus exists for a vehicle surrounding confirmation apparatus, which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.